Clinical Manifestations of Covid-19 Disease: Exploring the Experiences of Infected Health-care Providers

Toulabi, Tahereh; Veiskramian, Atefeh; Jafaripour, Fatemeh; Azadi, Abbas; Heydari, Heshmatolah

doi:10.22087/ijac.2021.146339

Clinical Manifestations of Covid-19 Disease: Exploring the Experiences of Infected Health-care Providers

Document Type : Research

Authors

Tahereh Toulabi ¹

Atefeh Veiskramian ²

Fatemeh Jafaripour ³

Abbas Azadi ⁴

Heshmatolah Heydari ¹

¹ Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

² Student Research Committee, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

³ Faculty of Nursing, Behbahan University of Medical Sciences, Behbahan, Iran

⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran

10.22087/ijac.2021.146339

Abstract

Covid-19 is a novel disease with many unknown clinical and management dimensions. To effectively diagnose, control, and treat this disease, it is necessary to identify its clinical symptoms and quality. However, no one can better interpret clinical symptoms than caregivers infected by the disease. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences of infected healthcare providers regarding the clinical manifestations of Covid-19 disease. Methods: This qualitative research was conducted using the conventional content analysis method in Iran from March to June 2020. Participants in this study included 18 healthcare providers with Covid-19, who were selected based on a purposeful sampling method. The data were collected through phone call interviews and analyzed according to the Lundman and Graneheim approach. Results: Qualitative data analysis revealed 10 categories, including respiratory disorders, fever and chills, body pain, fatigue, headache, skin disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, taste and olfactory disturbances, insomnia, and stress and anxiety. Patients with Covid-19 may experience specific or nonspecific disorders. It is necessary to consider individuals with non-specific manifestations as suspicious cases and screen them with proper diagnostic tests. This can help to identify true positive patients, provide them with more effective health care, and prevent further spread of the disease by isolating suspected individuals.

Keywords

Clinical manifestation

Health care providers

Covid-19

Qualitative study

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